Latest news
Q And A With Amy Dickson – A New CD And Concerts In Sydney
For Sydney-born saxophonist Amy Dickson, 2016 is shaping up to be a busy year. March sees the release of a CD Introit: The Music of Gerald Finzi which features her as a soloist; in July she returns to Sydney from her London base to perform at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra…
Australia Day Honours For Musicians
Congratulations to two outstanding Australian musicians have been recognised in the Australia Day Honours for 2016! Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra since 2001, Dr Nicholas Milton, has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the arts, particularly to classical orchestral music performance, as…
Can classical music be cool?
An excellent piece in The Economist Can classical music be cool? on building new, younger audiences for classical music.
The Pearlfishers Picture Gallery
Opera Australia’s new production of Bizet’s Orientalist opera The Pearlfishers opened in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House last week. It is an exotic looking production! Scroll down to see all ten images. Runs till March 12. 2016. Image credits Keith Saunders, courtesy Opera Australia
Tales From The Vienna Staatsoper – Q And A With Margaret Plummer
Exactly a year ago, mezzo-soprano Margaret Plummer packed up her family, said ‘goodbye’ to friends and relocated to Vienna to follow her dream. A familiar face – and voice – on the Sydney opera stage, she had been awarded the Vienna State Opera Award from Opera Foundation Australia and opportunity beckoned. A graduate of the Sydney…
Vale Pierre Boulez, 90
‘It’s impossible to imagine contemporary music, and in fact the entire musical world, without Pierre Boulez.’ The Guardian Pierre Boulez, one of the giants of contemporary modern music has died aged 90. Last March, the music world commemorated his 90th birthday with a raft of celebrations. Click here to read his 90th birthday interview in…
Latest reviews
CD Review: Songs From Before/ Max Richter
It was a novel idea for a sleepover – a live, all-night performance by Max Richter, of his album Sleep. For eight hours, patrons immersed themselves in Richter’s inimitable music. Performing with him in the spaces of the Sydney Opera House were his colleagues who also featured on the album – New York’s American Contemporary…
Concert Review: Vienna Salon/ Australian Haydn Ensemble
Vienna Salon, Australian Haydn Ensemble Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House May 31, 2016 The Australian Haydn Ensemble demonstrated its flair for skilled and instinctive ensemble playing when it performed the music of the early Classical Viennese school in Vienna Salon. Playing on period or replica instruments, the four core string instrumetalists were joined by flautist…